duncan228
01-22-2010, 02:19 AM
Spurs Midseason Report: Fifty wins no sure bet (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Midseason_Report_Fifty_wins_no_sure_bet.html )
By Jeff McDonald
The Spurs hit the season’s midway point Wednesday in a home loss to the Utah Jazz in the 41st game. They are 25-16, halfway to an 11th straight 50-win season, but with their worst record at the halfway mark in the Tim Duncan era. With the schedule’s degree of difficulty ratcheted up, the Spurs are no sure bet to keep that streak alive. Staff writer Jeff McDonald takes the team’s midpoint temperature:
What's gone right?
Duncan’s knees have held up, and so has his MVP-caliber game. Rookie DeJuan Blair looks like a second-round steal. Manu Ginobili’s balky ankle has been sound. George Hill has showed no sign of a sophomore slump.
What's gone wrong?
High-priced investments Richard Jefferson (12.8 points per game) and Antonio McDyess (5.4 points, 5.4 rebounds) have underachieved. All-Star point guard Tony Parker is battling plantar fasciitis and other bumps and bruises. The Spurs are 8-9 on the road and 8-14 against foes .500 or better.
What's next?
Barring abject disaster, Duncan will get the one point needed for 20,000 in his career tonight against Houston. The rest remains a crapshoot. The Spurs play 24 of the final 41 on the road. To get 50 wins, they have to start beating good teams away from the AT&T Center.
Will there be moves?
The Spurs went all-in over the summer, dipping into the luxury tax to add Jefferson, McDyess and others. If they double-down before the Feb. 18 trade deadline and add another piece, they’ve got the assets (read: expiring contracts) to do it. Bringing in a bought-out veteran free agent, as the Spurs did last season with Drew Gooden, remains an option, though the Spurs would have to waive a player to make roster space.
Record projection
The Spurs are typically a second-half team and, given the new faces, they have more room for improvement this season than most. With Gregg Popovich’s rotation all but set, expect more chemistry to come. That should help offset a brutal second-half slate. Chalk up another 25-16 for a 50-32 finish. Where that puts them in the airtight Western Conference is anyone’s guess.
*********************
Miss the playoffs?
The Spurs' second half of the season will be tough, and the numbers say unless there's improvement, it could be a hard fight to stay among the West's top eight seeds.
* 17-2 Record against sub-.500 teams
* 8-14 Record against teams .500 or better
* 28 Games left against teams above .500
* 47-35 Projected record based on current winning percentages
* 48-34 No. 8 seed Utah's record last season
By Jeff McDonald
The Spurs hit the season’s midway point Wednesday in a home loss to the Utah Jazz in the 41st game. They are 25-16, halfway to an 11th straight 50-win season, but with their worst record at the halfway mark in the Tim Duncan era. With the schedule’s degree of difficulty ratcheted up, the Spurs are no sure bet to keep that streak alive. Staff writer Jeff McDonald takes the team’s midpoint temperature:
What's gone right?
Duncan’s knees have held up, and so has his MVP-caliber game. Rookie DeJuan Blair looks like a second-round steal. Manu Ginobili’s balky ankle has been sound. George Hill has showed no sign of a sophomore slump.
What's gone wrong?
High-priced investments Richard Jefferson (12.8 points per game) and Antonio McDyess (5.4 points, 5.4 rebounds) have underachieved. All-Star point guard Tony Parker is battling plantar fasciitis and other bumps and bruises. The Spurs are 8-9 on the road and 8-14 against foes .500 or better.
What's next?
Barring abject disaster, Duncan will get the one point needed for 20,000 in his career tonight against Houston. The rest remains a crapshoot. The Spurs play 24 of the final 41 on the road. To get 50 wins, they have to start beating good teams away from the AT&T Center.
Will there be moves?
The Spurs went all-in over the summer, dipping into the luxury tax to add Jefferson, McDyess and others. If they double-down before the Feb. 18 trade deadline and add another piece, they’ve got the assets (read: expiring contracts) to do it. Bringing in a bought-out veteran free agent, as the Spurs did last season with Drew Gooden, remains an option, though the Spurs would have to waive a player to make roster space.
Record projection
The Spurs are typically a second-half team and, given the new faces, they have more room for improvement this season than most. With Gregg Popovich’s rotation all but set, expect more chemistry to come. That should help offset a brutal second-half slate. Chalk up another 25-16 for a 50-32 finish. Where that puts them in the airtight Western Conference is anyone’s guess.
*********************
Miss the playoffs?
The Spurs' second half of the season will be tough, and the numbers say unless there's improvement, it could be a hard fight to stay among the West's top eight seeds.
* 17-2 Record against sub-.500 teams
* 8-14 Record against teams .500 or better
* 28 Games left against teams above .500
* 47-35 Projected record based on current winning percentages
* 48-34 No. 8 seed Utah's record last season